[book rec] ah-HAH!

[permetaform]

Okay, so I don't rec books very often, but dude. dude.

To give context for the flailing: I've recently (read: in the past month or so) had conversations with several different people about the inability to concentrate/focus/get-things-done/organized.

I so very sympathize, because it took the longest fucking time trying to figure out what worked for me and a lot of trial and error. Alot of it was because I frankly hate being tied to time and the fact that I'm a pattern thinker rather than a linear one. And one of the consequences of being a pattern thinker is that when I explain things I don't tend to do it in a very coherent way, so it's hard for me to explain exactly *how* I'm organizing things. Especially since it's a system that superficially looks no different from any other system.

BUT! I found a book! It was completely by random today while browsing my local B&N and I got curious at the title. And when I skimmed through it I went, "huh." And then read it from cover to cover, giggling and being sorta stunned all at once, because most of the stuff they mention I already do. It's methods that I've found works for me, but someone actually wrote it all down! It's this:

Organizing for the Creative Person: Right-Brain Styles for Conquering Clutter, Mastering Time, and Reaching Your Goals
(ebay link, Powell's link, Powell's link to another book that's similar)

Which, y'know, was like a moment of "oh DUH" when I realized that their methods was what I was doing with my folders and lists and post-its. For the longest while I just felt kinda stupid having to do the things I did because I for the life of me cannot get "organized" in the traditional sense. I felt like I was constantly fighting my brain, which should've been able to handle these simple stupid day-to-day shit by normal methods. (...which, gah, yes. I keep forgetting sometimes, that I'm not and probably never will be normal and that "user default settings" will never work right for me.)

It's like...like whoa, there's a name for this! That...that I'm not just, like, incompetent when I depend on these things to keep me organized. Which, honestly? whoa.

Comments

[myniamh.livejournal.com]

Oh lordy, I need this. Thanks for the rec, my organisational skills are awful.

[permetaform]

=) t'was my pleasure! It's sorta like a series of methods of tricking yourself, like I mentioned here, and methods to work with your brain rather than against it. A lot of it apparently has to do with how the right brain is a holistic thinker, so that when we think "time" and when we think "messy area", we think "LARGE AMT OF TIME FOR HUGE MESS" and then we flail and get discouraged and give up. But there's ways around that.

[myniamh.livejournal.com]

he he. I have a lot of sparkly pens for writing lists. Only I can't find them all. =D

I think I managed to trick myself into cleaning up Nana's place like that. Our family are (myself included) hoarders, it was chock full of stuff/rubbish from the 50's onward. I just started with trying to get one corner in the kitchen looking neat and pretty. It kinda spiralled from there into the rest of the kitchen, pulling up rotten carpets and emptying cupboards full of dissolved clothes.
I could only manage one section at a time though, If I had tried it all at once or tried to get a constant flow of cleaning going would have killed me.
I have no idea why the bits of paper on my desk are such hard things for me to get rid of now!

[permetaform]

I could only manage one section at a time though, If I had tried it all at once or tried to get a constant flow of cleaning going would have killed me.

::nods:: exactly.

And something that actually helps me, 'cause I'm at heart a huuuuge pack rat, is to ask myself, honestly, if I'm ever gonna use it again. And then visualize the exact situation, and then think about exactly what the chance is of my being in that situation. And, if I need to, figure out if there's a better/cheaper/prettier way of doing it with something *else*.

Also, perhaps, to weight the pro's of having the item, verses the *cost* of keeping it. ie. the space it takes up, the uglyness of the clutter, the not being able to find what I need because it's taking up space, etc.

And ack, the bits of paper thing is evil. One thing that I noticed while I was looking at what I couldn't throw away is that I'm not throwing it away because I think I still need it OR it's making note of a task that's not done yet. Chances are, then, that it'll help by writing down whatever's on the little bit of paper into something *else*, to link it up with other information. (pattern thinker, yes?) Therefore, if it's something that I think I need, I remember it better by putting it with similar information. If it's something that I'm not doing, it's probably such a big task that it's constantly Not-Done (like cleaning, which is an ongoing process), and therefore you need the space to brainstorm out all the tiny little steps that are involved in the bigger process.

[myniamh.livejournal.com]

One great thing about having a Mac is the Sticky-note application, virtual sticky-notes! Can't be lost or stolen or stray. Unfortunately can't be taken out either. My lists have greatly improved since I started using them oh they are so very pretty and can change colours.
This pretty this is so true.

[permetaform]

::grins and nods:: I've been looking for sticky note things for PC, but then I look at how much RAM it's taking up and I grimace.

::points at laptop:: vidding maching, in the long run. It was more efficient for me to use paper, which is not true of all people.